Local resettlement coordinators are asking for community support as they prepare to welcome refugees from Tanzania.

“Chattanooga has been approved as a resettlement site for Burundians,” said Anne Curtis, coordinator and sponsorship developer for Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services.

As many as 9,000 refugees from Tanzania, known as the “1972 Burundians,” are being considered for resettlement in the United States. The refugees are known by the year of their initial exile from Burundi, located in the Great Lakes region of sub-Saharan Africa.

Chattanooga is among the cities equipped with the resources to accommodate such a group, although it has not yet been determined how many refugees may come here, coordinators said.